[Apostle Wilford Woodruff Journal] 17th March 1848 I spent the day at home.
I attended a Council of much importance in the evening. The captain of the Policee with two others who were members of the Seventies were brought before the Presidency of the Seventies for Assault & Batterry & swearing. There was present but three of the Presidents of the Seventies, But the High Council was Present Also President Young & W Woodruff. It was agreed by the Parties to try the case before the High Council, which was filled up And the charges read. The defendants did not exactly plead guilty so the testimony was heard on both sides & it was proven there was a fight between them & swearing.
The Plaintiff opened the subject. Called witnesses who testifyed. The defendants spoke & bore their testimony. The Plaintiff then made his Plea & also his councillor. The defendants then made their plea Also their Councellor. Then President Young arose And addressed the council in an interesting manner. The following is an extract of the Clerks munites of the President speech:
If all Parties are willing I will now make some remarks. There are a good many item pertaining to this case. 1st it was to be brought before the President of the 70. But they did not profess to have any Jurisdiction in the case ownly in the trial of their membership but not as A peace officer. But the High council can sit as a municipal court & try them for Church fellowship and for a breach of duty as A Policee officer.
Is it supposed that A public officer cannot do wrong? I do not think so & when they do wrong they should be reproved as well as any other person. I shall speak my mind without any regard to parties favor or affection. This I always Calculate to do whether I gain friends or foes. I have plenty of enemies But I dont ask any favors of them. I will not be turned for a moment out of the Course of right & justice if it Cuts my throat. I shall tell the truth. Some who have pied this cause cannot tell all the truth.
If Mr Hill did tantilize the Policee they had no business to fall upon him & beat him. I have known Br Hill for fifteen years. He is given to rough uncouth Conversation and tantalizing mens feelings. And He wont Apostitize neither.
Let me reason the Case. I am a teacher. I often officiat in that capacity. For instance Hosea Stout says that for 8 years He has had A catalogue of names in his own mind of those who would Apos-titize and as yet he had not been mistakened. If A man understands the things of God, He knows well that every Saint of God is followed up through life by the powers of Hell, of the devil of temptation, & of evry snare that can be invented on the earth to make him Apostitize, loose his glory & Crown. This I understand.
If I see a man doing wrong or is any way faltering If I take a course to make him believe that he will fall does not that at once weaken his faith & disarm him of power to stand? It does. Dont I see things as well as the Policee? I do. And if I saw A man that I knew would fall I would not tell him so but would try to save him as well as I Could that when he did go my garments would be clear before God & he could not rise in Judgment against me.
I am here to save both Br Hosea & Hill but not to destroy them. We are here to the Policee as policee And to inquire into their Conduct as Elders. Has not Isaac Hill been afflicted and maimed? Who sent Hosea Stout to take Isaac Hill as A Prisioner? Nobody. Was there disorder? I will admit Isaac Hill was out of ordor to go into a Store in the mids of a contention & undertake to tantilize a mans feelings while He was in anger under pretence of reproving him for swearing. A far better way would have been for him to have waited untill He was calm & composed & took him one side & in a friendly manner said Br Hosea, I think your Course in the Store was not calculated to dignify your office as captain of the policee and as A member of the Seventies. He would then have recieved it vary different from what He did.
I know it is natural for Br Hill to tantalize. But that is no Excuse for Br Hosea Stout to fight him. He should have said I am A peace maker And magnifyed his office with dignity & honor but instead of that He desended to the spirit of a tantilizer & fell to fighting & swearing.
Policeemen should be men of more noble minds than to desend to such things, or suffer their spirits to mingle with such low degrading things. Hosea Stout did desend to anger & swearing which was disgraceful to a Policee man. And men that will practice such things are not fit for policeeman. I know the policeemen here are not Just right for they will get together for hours together make fun, t[e?]ll tales, drink whiskey & get drunk and that is why they are so angry all the while. And they dont pray when they come together. If they did when they saw fighting & contention they would do as John Lytle did when he parted Stout & Hill. Says He (as he steped between them & shoued one one way & the other the other way) get out of the way. Stop your fighting. I am a peace maker & wont have it. I never struck a man in my life though I have parted many who were fighting. I never saw the day but that I thought to myself to good to strike a man.
Now to the Policee I say stop your baldadash. Pray with each other. Now if I have not told the truth tell me of it. I mean to reprove the Policee. If we dont get better men in the valley I will vote against them. They have confessed they are angry. I want to see the Police officiate in their office without getting angry. If they do not they disgrace their office.
I Know how Brother Hosea Stout feels concerning the spirits that murdered the Prophets & still hang around Us, but dont you know that devils are going to the mountains as well as Saints? We have some of the meanest spirits among us on earth. The net has halled in good and bad And I am watching them Continually. And we have some of the best men with us that swear that are guilty of crime yet they would lay down their lives for us & for this Cause. There are others who will not gather with the Saints because they think the Church is not pure enough for them & they think themselves vary pure & will wait untill the Saints get pure Holy & righteous & during all this time they will live with the world in the midst of wickedness of every kind & think it all well.
We have good men & bad men among us but if I see a bad man or good man that needs reproof I will give it to him but will I go into a store & strike A man? No. Would it make him any better? No. But we should be saviors benovelent & kind & imitate the example of the savior.
Men ignorantly fan the flame of mobocracy. I have feelings about it, and often say Cut his infernal throat. Still I do not mean any such thing. I am not good enough to do such A thing. The God of Israel was A God of War. When Israel went over the read sea & the enemies followed the Lord commanded the waters to overflow them And it obeyed. When I get good enough then I can fight to If I have power to command the elements.
Isaac Hill Ought to have known better than to have done as he did. He is no more fit for a High Priest than The policee are for their office. When they were by themselves He should have told him of it quietly. Is it not so Issac? (Isaac yes.) I am not going to decide the case. That is for the High Council to do.
Br Cutler arose made A speach & gave his decision. Both parties recieved their reproof & made their confession which was excepeted. President Young said good would grow out of it. Council Adjourned.
[source: Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
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